Sit and Spin....Together

Every once in a while Madison or Carson actually enjoy the sit and spin toy. Today, without any encouragement from us, they were enjoying it together. They were doing such a good job of working together and the only downfall of the entire experience....Carson was very dizzy, he could barely stand up afterwards!

Going for the Take Down

Well this situation didn't start off maliciously...Carson was trying to get Jason up because I was trying to get a video of him walking. Little did I know I would capture some wrestling action. I don't think he (Carson) realizes that Jason weighs almost as much as he does! Whether it's wrestling, football, or baseball, we have a future athlete in Carson. Give him anything that even comes close to resembling a ball and it's flying across the room!

Jason's First Major Haircut

Like Madison and Carson, Jason was born with a head full of hair that just grows and grows. It wasn't such an issue with Madison, being a girl and all, but both Carson and now Jason have needed haircuts before they're even one. I was too nervous to cut Carson's myself at one so he didn't have his first haircut until I took him to Great Clips after Jason was born. I'm a little more daring now with my third and I took the clippers to him. It took over a week to complete the job as I could only do a little here and there when he'd sit still and not reach for the clippers. Here are some before and after pictures as well as some flashbacks of Carson.

Jason Before:

Jason After: (mom, don't cry...it will grow back)
I just love this picture...it looks like he's enjoying some conversation after dinner time.

This is Carson almost a year ago...obviously prior to a haircut.

Another "before" shot of Carson. A day after his first birthday.

May 2008...Carson 15 months, Jason 3 1/2 months. At this point Carson actually had had his first haircut, but I opted to keep the bangs...he had such a big head that he needed the bangs plus his hair was so soft and fine that it worked for him.

I'm getting a little braver with Carson. End of May 2008 I use the clippers on him and get rid of some of the bangs.

June 2008 with cousin Timothy (2 1/2). A little less bangs now. Jodi, had Timothy even had a haircut at this point?

More Jason Videos

We've created a tradition at the Pier house of clapping when someone has finished their dinner. It motivates Madison and Carson to eat rather than play at the table. Jason has recently learned how to clap and has begun taking part of the festivities. Here's a little video of him:

And another walking video of him.

Madison Turns Three!

We arrived home from South Carolina on Madison's birthday. Grammy's presents awaited her.
Here she poses with her presents in her new outfit from Grammy.

Tearing into the packages...

A doctors kit...

And princess dress-ups....of course Carson had to dress up too....eventually he'll learn that this is a girlie activity!
She is turning into such a little lady. She is just over 30 pounds and 37 inches. She is very polite (most of the time) and loves to be a little mother to the boys...telling them what to do and where to go! She is completely potty trained but still holds onto her pacifier at bedtimes. Even trying to bribe her with gum hasn't worked. She loves to sing, dance, and draw. She's become uninterested in going to children's ministry at bible study or on Sunday mornings and it's become quite a tear-filled battle. As soon as I tell her it's Sunday, she says "I don't want to go to class, I want to worship Jesus" (meaning she wants to go to the big service). Now how do I argue with that!

Some of her latest quotables:
Whenever she does something unusual (posing, jumping, etc) she says to me, "look, mommy, I do that all the time."

Today after dropping Sam off at school, I was telling the kids that we were going home to have breakfast. I said "it's eggs and toast day, do you want scrambled with cheese or dippy eggs, Madison?" She replies, "no, I want cereal." I reply, "no, we had cereal yesterday, today it's eggs and toast." She replies, "I want muffins." I say "no, it's eggs and toast today." She replies, "We'll just have waffles." (now speaking for everyone in the car) I reply, "no, it's eggs and toast today." After a long pause she says, "I guess I'll have dippy."

Random Happenings

Over the last 2 months, I've found that I have a good number of random photos that I want to post but nothing really worthy of it's own post, so here are some random shots at the Pier household in November and December.

Who says boys can't play pink guitars?

Yes, it really is Madison's toy!

Madison and Sam match nicely for church one Sunday...unplanned!

On the same Sunday that Daddy and Carson match so nicely...planned.

Carson and Madison enjoy some time on the deck in their jammies on a warm November morning. Give them a wet cloth and they'll go to town cleaning anything in sight. I can't wait until they're big enough to wash the van!

A favorite evening activity. Daddy on all fours becoming the animal they all love to ride. Even Jason wants to participate in this activity. It was so perfect...just as I was getting ready to get this picture he crawled underneath Matt and laid down.
A spontaneous event. I caught Carson "in the act" and quickly put him on the toilet. He enjoyed some quiet reading time and was successful. Although he often wants to go sit on the toilet most of the time it's after he's filled his pants! I'm really not interested in pushing the potty training with him yet. When he's ready, I'll be ready!

Jason ~ 11 months and On The Move

Jason is now 11 months old but wants to do everything his brother and sister are doing. He wants and will eat almost everything he sees us eating. He's very fond of meats but not as fond of veggies. He can locate any sippy cup in a room and makes a beeline to get to it and drink whatever the contents happen to be. We're beginning to make the transition from bottle to sippy cup and from formula to whole milk and he has no complaints about the changes. He crawls up the stairs almost as quickly as Carson, and is now an avid walker. He's been walking for over 2 weeks and has gotten quite fast. Falling doesn't phase him which is a good thing since the dog or the other kids are constantly getting in his way and knocking him down. I've been trying to capture him walking (like Frankenstein) for awhile now but he moves so fast that it's difficult. Plus add in the other 2 children wanting to get to the camera and the dog moving this way and that, and you can understand what a task it is. I finally got a half way decent video yesterday and even though it's only 3 seconds and blurry it gives you an idea of how he's getting around.

Enjoy!

Laughter

Jason is so responsive to Madison and Carson. They both can get him laughing so quickly. Here Madison is getting Jason to respond one morning at breakfast.

South Carolina Post #4...Random

While in South Carolina we celebrated Madison and Christina's birthdays. Christina turned 18 on the 28th and Madison turned 3 on the 29th. Here's a nice shot of the two of them getting ready to be sung to.

In our "townhome" we had a great big jacuzzi tub in it's own room. As you can imagine bathtime was a blast. However, someone had to be in their with them because it was very slippery (with the soft water) and it was too deep to reach down into to bathe them. And Jason never lasted very long because he constantly wanted to stand up but then was constantly slipping. On this occasion it was Matt's turn to do the bathing. A little soap and shampoo with the jets on and you had an instant bubble bath.

The living room..."playroom" Here the kids enjoyed playing with the few toys we brought with us.
Carson and Madison enjoying a mid-morning snack.

South Carolina Post #3...The Playground

On site of the resort we were at there was a very nice playground in the sand with a minature golf course next to it. We got out there on a few occasions and the kids really enjoyed running around.
Here's a few from the minature golf course in the opposite direction of the playground.

Madison, Grace, and Carson climbed up on this fake turtle that's on the golf course for a picture.

Madison and Carson playing so nicely together.

Carson and Jonathan also playing nicely.

Carson working independently to climb his way up as Madison makes her way down.

Say cheese.

Jason enjoying a swing ride with mommy.

Carson was less than thrilled on the swings at first. Here is a great picture capturing his fear.

South Carolina Post #2...The Aquarium

With cool weather outside we decided to take a short morning trip to Charleston (1 hour away) to go to the aquarium. We weren't there long but it was a nice time as a family.

A beautiful bald eagle poses for me.
Madison and Carson (behind her) all decked out in life jackets as they play in a pretend boat.

Watching all the really big fish and a few sharks.

The view outside of the aquarium was beautiful.

South Carolina Post #1...The Beach

On November 22nd we left Maryland to drive 600 miles south to Edisto Beach, South Carolina thanks to our friends Chris and Ann Ricchini who used some of their timeshare points to gift us with a place to stay for the week. They were also there as were 2 other families. Unfortuneately 600 miles south doesn't necessarily mean much warmer. The temperatures were low throughout the week...we had the heat on the entire time at our place. Fortunately it was sunny almost the entire week which provided some warmth. On one of the nicer days Matt and I headed to the beach for a brief period with Madison and Carson. 2 buckets and 2 shovels and they were happy. Madison was happy digging in the sand and repeatedly filled up her bucket. Carson was happy exploring and picking up all kinds of shells. Neither were interested in getting too close to the ocean so there was no need to worry. Here are a few shots of our time.

Don't let this picture fool you. As soon as the water was heading in his direction he turned and ran the other way.

Together

This post is designed to remind me that every so often my 3 little ones can sit close by one another without biting, hiting, or bugging one another. One morning after breakfast all three took some time for reading.
Madison and Carson holding hands and giving me their best smiles.

Another moment with the books...well Jason just prefers to chew on whatever he can and Carson is very into the books.

Another split second shot....Carson and Jason enjoying a moment in the rocking chair together in their matching PJs (well sort of matching).

Some reading time for the older ones.

Grammy and Grandpa Visit

Grammy and Grandpa came into town for the 6th time this year from October 30th to November 2nd. Their visit gave Matt and I the opportunity to go out on a date to Cheesecake Factory and then to the Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman concert. They were also here to help us get ready for our family pictures (see previous post). As always Grammy captured some moments.
Madison helping me make muffins.
Ready for the day.

Jason demonstrating his standing skills.

Matt and Madison posing in front of the "statue of liberty" at Red Robin.

Carson was so great at dinner. Probably the best he's ever been. So happy!

Grandpa, Jason, and Grammy before church.